PITTSBURGH — It was late March and Vance Worley, battered in spring training and twisted into a pitcher even he no longer recognized, received the ultimate humbling when the Twins outrighted him from the 40-man roster.

It turned out to be the start of an amazing reclamation project.

The Pirates acquired the former Phillie, who went 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA and finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2011, in a deal for “cash considerations.”

Put it this way: The cash considerations were modest enough that a used car in rough shape would’ve been fair value.

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Already Worley has been a bargain.

Since getting called up to join the Pirates in mid-June, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA in four starts, all of them quality. This weekend the Pirates had his player banner made up to hang along the outside perimeter of PNC Park. As you come down General Robinson Street along the third-base side, Worley’s image comes right after those of outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Worley said before Saturday’s game against the Phils. “(The Pirates front office) knew who I was and once I was available and not on the 40-man, it made it easier for them to do what they wanted to do with me.”

What the Pirates did was send Worley to their spring-training complex in Bradenton, Fla., where his first five days were spent watching video of himself during his best days with the Phillies, compared to his time with the Twins after the Phils traded him and prospect Trevor May for outfielder Ben Revere.

Last season, Worley went 1-5 with a 7.21 ERA for Minnesota before getting sent to Triple-A. From the moment he had arrived to work with the Twins’ staff, he was told to change just about everything imaginable.

The Pirates told him to scrap all the other nonsense he was asked to change, and one minor adjustment was made. Suddenly, Worley was back to being “Vanimal.”

“Once we saw it, it was almost like, ‘How did you not figure that out on your own?’” Worley said. “But at the same time, I was getting fed all this other BS when I was over with Minnesota. ... It was, ‘Your leg kick.’ It was, ‘You’re all the way over on the right side of the rubber. We need you on the middle now.’ It was, ‘That’s not working, we need you on the left.’ Then it just became, ‘You’re not the guy.’

“Talking to (Pirates general manager) Neil (Huntington), the first day I got picked up he was confident in me. That’s something I never really had with the Twins. They said they wanted to get me back on track and get me back to the guy I used to be. They had seen me all the way through the system with the Phillies, so they knew what I was capable of doing. It was just a matter of me getting back on track.

“I’m just happy. I’m glad to be out of there and over here.”

The Phillies had their chance to get Worley back at a song when the Twins gave up on him, but didn’t make an effort to do so. As much as being traded hurt, Worley wouldn’t have minded a return to Philly. He still lives in the area with his wife, who is expecting their first child in October.

“That’s the new project,” he said jokingly.

Yet he understood why the Phillies and most other teams didn’t bother.

“Why would they take a chance on me after struggling last year and doing pretty bad this spring again?” he said. “It’s just a matter of who wants to take the risk, and these guys were all about it.”

It will be interesting to see if the Pirates acquire any of Worley’s former teammates in the coming weeks. The Buccos have overcome a miserable start to the season and are one of the hottest teams in baseball. Still, with pitcher Gerrit Cole’s health in question and their bullpen shaky after the implosion and trading away of Jason Grilli, the Pirates could used both a starter and a couple of relievers to make a postseason push.

The Phillies happen to have a few of those to dangle in closer Jonathan Papelbon, left-hander Antonio Bastardo and starter Kyle Kendrick.

Worley believes the Pirates have a chance to do great things.

“They are on the rise, for sure,” he said. “They’ve gotten better over the years, and now this is the place everyone wants to come, it seems.”